Kentucky Wildcats: Is Darius Miller the Best Sixth Man in the Country?

Kentucky's Darius Miller is one of two seniors on the Wildcats. He is a vital part of the 2011-12 Wildcats.

He came from Kentucky, won the Mr. Kentucky Basketball award back in 2008, and has bled blue his whole life. Kentucky might not have made it to the Final Four if it weren't for Miller's play in their first round game against Princeton. In the first half of that game, the freshmen were wetting the bed while Miller scored 15 points on five-of-eight shooting to get the team on track. He finished with 17 points which led the team.

Old Dominion

A similar thing can be said about the Old Dominion game when Miller came off the bench to score 13 points. He also dished out five assists. Miller put up seven of the team's final nine points to finish the half. He was a big reason they won. He takes the simple play when it is available. Miller doesn't get ahead of himself and keeps his control which can calm the team down. Miller shows the true value of experience. He knows how to attack a zone. Marquis Teague should have been taking notes during the game.

Passive

The biggest complaint about Miller is that he disappears at times. If Miller gets off to a good start, it seems to determine how his game is going to go. If he hits his first couple then it could be a big game for him, but if he misses then he tends to get more passive. This could be because he isn't the go-to guy.

Going forward

Miller showed again that he is one of those guys every team needs. He scores when he needs to, can hit open three pointers, grabs rebounds, plays defense, and finds open teammates. These are things that all good basketball players are supposed to do. When he has the jump-stop floater working, he is tough for most guards to stop. Miller can also cause matchup problems with his size (6'7", 235 lbs).

Miller is a team player who knows his role on the team. Players like Miller are especially important to a young team like Kentucky. Coach Cal will need a couple guys who have hung around for three or four years to mix in with the one-and-dones (or the two-and-throughs). Next year Jon Hood may fill this role.

Miller played very well down the stretch last year. This year, he is starting the season strong. Miller is Coach Cal's ace in the hole. Miller steps up his game when the team needs him to. He might be the most important player on the team because of his experience and calm demeanor.

Is Darius Miller the best sixth man in the country? Name a better sixth man in the comments section (if there is one).

Having grown up in Kentucky, I am a lifelong Kentucky Wildcat fan. You can follow me on Twitter here. Still want more? Go to my blog.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.